The Bob Books Marathon

Since this January (when Jack decided he wanted to learn how to read), Sir Bugga-Lot has been working through 5 sets of Bob Books. Every school day, he would look forward to the moment that he would open the colorful cover of his latest book and begin plowing. It has been a more difficult goal than he anticipated, but he has rarely given up on his day to day assignments. The last set of Bob Books have been significantly harder with more meaty pages, and complicated words. But he has persevered. Eight months later, still at the wee age of five, we closed the last book on the last set. What an accomplishment!!! One of which he is very proud of because he decided to take this challenge on himself.


Jack was very interested to know what reading journey he would be embarking on next. And I was honestly searching for an idea myself, one that preferably moved toward a more Charlotte Mason style, when I remembered a set of Nature Readers that I had purchased a few terms ago. They were originally intended for Grace, but the required reading she has from the Burgess Book of Animals has kept her busy enough. After inspecting the first of four Nature Readers, I decided to go with it.

It will continue to be a challenge for Sir Bugga-Lot, mostly due to the addition of quite a large number of intimidating sight words. So, two nights ago, I sat down and created a Word Game Board for Jack to use while we tackle his first chapter on Wasps.


He is quizzed on 10 sight words a day, and for each word correct, he receives one penny. On the first day we tried this method, the board was a tad overwhelming, and he struggled with confidence despite earning six cents. But by that evening, he was already asking when he was going to get to do the game board again. With a sigh of relief, I am glad this tool has helped him to look beyond moving into a higher caliber reader. And I have to admit, it is nice to actually read about something more meaningful like wasps making nests, than the trivial (BUT OH SO WONDERFUL) Bob Books.

A Road Trip Around Australia

Last term it was my goal to have the children become very familiar with the continents. I considered moving on to learning the states, but reconsidered, and thought we'd spend a few weeks delving deeper into each continent's landmarks, cultures, fauna and flora. This month we have focused on Australia.

The library has a plethora of lackluster books on the continent - nothing remotely with a Charlotte Mason living book feel. I selected a few of the sterile books, but also took the time to check out "Are We There Yet?" by Alison Lester. The other books were quickly tossed aside once we started reading this book. The book details a road trip around the perimeter of Australia from the view point of Grace, the youngest in the family. The illustrations are colorful, and bits of humor are thrown in as you explore notable landmarks throughout Australia. Even my four year old fidget-boy stayed engaged.

Naturally, tonight I was back online to see if Ms. Lester could save the day again as we move on to the next continent. The plan was to head to Asia, but it looks like we'll be taking a detour and heading to Europe since she has also written a similar children's book about Spain.

We Survived The Week - A Recap

I'm really proud of that. Despite being ill, all of us were able to pull it off and stay on schedule. The kids were very patient with my barely audible voice as we tackled the readings for the day. And just as important, they were pleasant and positive. Here is a look back:

Now in his second week, Jack has an even stronger desire to read after creating Starfall books from a free Starfall workbook we obtained. They are actually the same early reader books you find on their site, but I chose to go with a hands on approach for him as it tackled two things: fine motor skills using his scissors to cut and create the book, and he's able to pull out his handmade readers any time for practice. By the end of this week he was wanting to tackle the harder words that had "tricks" to them. So I introduced the first book with the rules for the silent E. Now when Grace sits down to read to herself, he feels less frustrated in that he can pull out one of his readers and read with confidence alongside her.

Grace is really enjoying the addition of music lessons two to three times a week. We've learned how to hold and strum the guitar, we've learned notes A and B on the recorder, and she's been making up her own songs on the keyboard. I just received the piano book so we'll begin that this week. I've found that I have the best one on one time with her when Ken takes Jack to Tae-kwon-do on Tuesdays and Thursdays. So those 50 minutes are spent helping me prepare dinner (which she loves) and then we do a Monet activity, Puccini activity, or a music lesson together.

I've mentioned it before, but I can't say enough how much Grace's reading has blown my expectations out of the water. The words she can figure out, have me second guessing if she has somehow read the material before. I am glad that we are using the poetry of La Mare for her reading at the beginning of this term as it is enough to challenge her. As an exercise I will have her look over two of the assigned poems and go over it on her own. She is to circle any words that she doesn't know, we review them first, and then she reads the poem. This has given me some time to work with Jack while she reads, and it makes her reading go quicker once she has gone through it silently herself.

The children are taking to our rodent studies well. Despite the bad name rodents get in the adult world, they are pretty irresistable to the children. I've had little trouble keeping their interest during our introduction and time spent on squirrels these first two weeks.

So despite a bumpy beginning, we are off to a great positive start. And I'm happy to see that the pretend play has still been wonderful since starting school back up. Despite the messy playroom...this is a good season.

Grace Reads Her First Chapter Book

Our family is on a huge Kate DiCamillo kick right now as a result of our adventures with Despereaux. To my delight, I discovered on our last weekly library trip that DiCamillo has also started an easy to read chapter book series. Her first book in the series was just released and is called, "Mercy Watson to the Rescue". The outstanding illustrations in the book, and the short chapters that divide the 70 pages, make this a wonderful way of easing into reading chapter books. Next Monday will be her last chapter read for the book.

I can't believe I am writing this post. As I write now, she is reading to her younger brother in the next room. Grace has progressed with incredible speed in her reading. Without question, teaching my own child how to read has been one of the greatest highlights, and accomplishments of my homeschooling year. What an irreplaceable blessing.

Grace reading this evening to Jack.

Little Pea...Speaking Up for Spinach

This has nothing to do with homeschooling, but I need to stop and make a few comments about a great book that I checked out for the children at the library called "Little Pea". It a small simple story about a young pea that has to eat all of his CANDY for dinner, before he can have his dessert - SPINACH. The children have found this concept entirely humorous, and it has become an instant favorite. I highly recommend searching this one out at your library. As a parent, the story is short and clever enough that it is hard to tire of it.

It certainly had an influence on Jack. Who decided that tonight he wanted Spinach for his dessert. And he was serious. As luck would have it, I had a box of frozen spinach (which honestly has been in my freezer for over a year). I brought out the box and let Jack look at the picture of spinach on the front. He was a little more tentative, but still open to trying it...until I mentioned that it was a vegetable. As soon as he heard the word "vegetable" he instantly changed his mind.

What did he have for dessert? CANDY.

I See That!

Baby Faith (in utero) has become such an active part of our reading time these days. As soon as I begin read-a-louds with the children, she'll begin doing a very pronounced belly dance. This is becoming increasingly more difficult for the children to ignore. The books and children's elbows on either side of me are visibly getting kicked during our reading time together.

Today Grace was reading her book of choice out loud, and about every other page, one of the kids would announce "I saw that!". I hope this is a positive sign that she loves listening to books like her siblings...either that or she can't stand to listen to her mommy read.

(Wouldn't that be a Charlotte Mason kicker?)

Reading Her Own AO Literature

Grace read her own reading assignment from Baldwin's 50 Famous Stories today. This was a huge step from the simple cartoon 1st readers we have been utilizing. Last week, I gave Grace a poem or two to read from A.A. Milne's "When We Were Six". She loves to listen to 50 Famous, but the thought of reading it herself was a little intimidating.

The reading for today was a perfect length and looked like a good match for her level - the telling of George Washington and the chopping of the cherry tree. It was interesting to note that when I asked her for a narration, it came much more swiftly for her, since she had read it herself.

We've come so far in such a short time. It really is amazing to me how quickly she has been able to apply her reading skills.

The Tale of Despereaux

When picking free reading chapter books for Grace and I to read, I tend to pick the books which had a lasting impression on me as a child. I find myself steering away from recent releases as I don't have time to pre-read our selections. Overall our experience has been safe...with one or two exceptions.

Grace and I had just finished two books about a mouse named Poppy that had a bit of questionable content despite the reasonably good read. But when I saw this on the library shelf, I couldn't resist, hoping that the Newbery Medal Award I saw shining on the book cover was a promising sign. I'm so glad I did. Grace and I are in love with an adorable mouse (Despereaux) who is in love with a Princess. To date, the book has been lovely, and a great read, that has had both Grace and I laughing. If the book continues on this pace, it is sure to be a classic in our family. Judging from the reviews on Amazon, it will be.

It Is An All Out Reading Blitz!

Grace is officially a strong reader. She has gained the confidence she needs to now sound out any word she sees whether it be in a book, on a box, or on the street. We are almost complete with all of the online books offered by Starfall.com and I am also incorporating books from the library. This was all planned and expected work for this fall, and I am thrilled she has taken to reading so easily and confidently.

What was not expected is my just turned 4 years old son! He's been working on phonics sounds (a single sound per letter), and except for an occasional "oops" he has the sounds all down and associated with their corresponding letters. I just wanted him to become familiar with the sounds, and didn't even plan on introducing the concept of reading until at least another year. He apparently has other plans:

Today, while doing another double digit number recognition flashcard game with me, Jack decided to apply his own rules. Some of the flashcards we use have animals or shapes on the backs illustrating the number or amount, others have the name of the number written out in words. Spontaneously, the child began sorting out his "winnings" as he won them - shapes and animal backed flashcards in one pile, and number words in another pile. If the card had a word, he would check his answer by phonetically sounding out the letters.

This had me sitting in awe and also in horror. My son isn't ready for this!!! "Thirty-two" does not work out phonetically with only one sound committed to memory, and no introduction of how two consonants work together to create totally new sounds. What do I do??? Do I dive in with him? Do I just let him explore and hope he doesn't get frustrated with his sounded out results when they are so different from how the actual word sounds?

I am now embarassed that I had chalked up his boyhood as an instant mark against him for reading early. I just figured I would let him be. I have felt no rush in pushing reading with either of my children, but I assumed Grace would be my earliest reader. But (true confessions from a mother), I thought Jack would read later than Grace because he was a boy, because he was not a first born, or he'd just probably have stronger interests in other areas of his work for a good long while. Isn't that awful??? Shame on me.

Now I am not sure where to invest our time...I don't want to ruin an already good thing.

Boggle Jr. - A New Play On Phonics

This past weekend we purchased a few more board games for the children (masked as a birthday presents for Grace). These included the classic Chutes & Ladders game, as well another heralded classic - Operation. Added to the mix was Jr. Boggle.

I remembered playing and enjoying the game Boggle in my youth, and this looked right up our alley for where we are with both kids in Phonics.

This week we have been using Boggle Jr. as our Phonics work, and the children have found it a fun challenge, and something unusually hands on for Phonics work. They need to complete ten cards, (if they spell the 3 or 4 letter word correctly using the letter dies it is theirs to keep, otherwise it becomes my card).

I was impressed with how well Jack has picked up on this game. Some of the vowels are difficult, but the consonants are within his grasp with his new basic knowledge from Starfall of phonics sounds. Plus anything that looks remotely like a flashcard is instantly hoarded.

OOOO! Minn Is Good. Really Good.

We read the first chapter of Minn of Mississippi today, and I could feel the excitement growing for this book. In the fourth paragraph, Holling is already going into the formation of sandstone, limestone, shale and granite. I did not realize this would be mentioned (thinking I would be doing the rock study solo), but this was a great introduction to a number of our rocks in our identification kit.

After the first chapter, I took the opportunity to sit with Grace and have her describe to me the different characteristics of these rocks as she held them in her hand. Her favorite part is trying to make a streak on the white streak plate. By the end of it, she was correctly identifying each of the rocks, and understanding more about their origins.

I'm liking Minn!

Pagoo Is Finished!

What a great living book! Grace and I really enjoyed reading this together. I learned SO much about tidepools myself. It can be a little slow near the beginning as the story line is developing, but once you become attached to Pagoo and his struggles, the second half becomes a real page turner. Holling introduces so many different characters and sea creatures of all sizes, it kept Grace's interest soaring. I also thought Holling did a good job of trying to bring the drive of "instinct" to life for a child.

Grace stated that her favorite part of the book was "the end". (Pagoo becomes a father, and she liked the idea of new baby hermit crabs being born.)

So now it is off to Mississippi to meet Minn.

2 Chapters Left...And Counting

Only two more chapters of Pagoo left. What a great educational living book! Grace and I have both learned so much about crustaceans and life in the tidepool from this book. I realized just how little I knew about God's creative creation in this segment of animal life. Toward the end of the book, each chapter suddenly becomes a page turner, full of harrowing near death escapes for Pagoo.

Grace is double excited about finishing Pagoo. She knows that once we complete the last chapter, it will be her birthday. :) And she has already attempted to sneak in Minn of Mississippi - a good sign that she is ready to explore a bit of about freshwater life now.

Chalk One Up For Starfall.com

I hate to keep plugging a web site, but I really have to say again just how much Starfall has done to turn Jack on to Phonics, and give Grace the confidence and incentive she needed to feel completely comfortable reading aloud.

We are now completing our third week of using Starfall daily in our school routine. And I am very impressed with the results. This week was review or "Test Week" for Jack to get a feel for just how well he is memorizing the sounds of letters. Today we took a step away from Starfall, and I used letter flashcards to test him on the sounds (curious if he could separate the task of computer stimulation from what he recalled). He could. With the exception of three letters, he has the sounds down pat. That is saying something, for a little boy who three weeks ago, couldn't tell you what sounds ANY letter made.

For the first time, today, I heard Grace ask Jack if he wanted her to read to him. He obliged and she proceeded to read a simple "Old Hat, New Hat" Berenstain Bears book to him. She was so happy she could read it, she read it twice to him and then once more to myself and Jack.

So kudos to Starfall. What a difference. Don't you love it when something works...and it's free?!

Our Mystery Sentence Game

I wanted to expand just a tad on the jumbled sentence game that I touched on a couple of days ago. The last couple of days I've been pulling sentences from our reading for Grace to unjumble and put together.

Today was fun in that I took 4 "clue" sentences from James Herriot's "Moses" and told Grace ahead of time that her sentences were clues to a book she had read that was in our house. It was her job to guess what book they were from after all four sentences were constructed. She liked the idea of having clues, and had it pegged after the second sentence. Here were her sentences:

Quickly I lifted the little creature and tucked him inside my coat.

She went over to the fireside oven on the big black kitchen range, opened the door and popped him inside.

They say you see something new every day at this game, but this is something I've never even heard of.

I never went to the Butlers' without having a look in the pig pen.

Our Jumbled Sentence Game

Grace has been working over the last term on recognizing 100 sight words via flashcards. This has gone well, but at the beginning of this term I could tell that she had these aced and it was time for me to take the next step.

Excited to have her share in the thrill of "reading" a book, I checked out some easy readers from the library. This did not go over well. Her confidence in her reading ability was not high enough to feel comfortable with reading even a simple sentence --- even when I knew that she knew the words. Grace would instantly clam up and state that she didn't want to read it.

Chucking the Easy Readers aside, I began thinking of a less intimidating way to approach the task. I decided to take our flashcards and turn it into a game. Ahead of time, I formulated sentences out of flashcards, and then jumbled them up on the floor. It was Grace's job to hear the sentence dictated to her, and unjumble the sentence by placing the words in the correct sentence order. Grace took to this challenge like bread to butter.

If you think about the process, this is an even more difficult task than simply using one's sight to read and follow a sentence. Grace needed to hear the dictation properly, visualize the words, and then place them in the proper order.

For two weeks I have given her 4 jumbled sentences a day, and almost always she has pulled the sentence together with little hesitation and error. I did find I had two problems: flipping through flashcards to create sentences took awhile, and there are only so many interesting sentences that you can create out of 100 words.

Today, we tried a new task. I told her to give me 4 sentences and I would type them up, print them off, and quickly cut the strips down to individual words. She liked the idea of creating her own sentences. For example, one of her sentences today was "Can I have some more tropical leaves please?" Go figure??? This also was a breeze for me and took a fifth of the time to prepare.

To Be Like "Marie"

Degas has taken a bit of a back seat this week as we have been more into our bird studies. However, he is not forgotten. Grace mentioned today that she wanted to be like "Marie". The only Marie I knew was from the Degas children's book...of which I verified. She said she wanted to be like Marie, "The most famous dancer in the world". Ballet lessons here we come! Grace can hardly control her excitement.